The Father John Misty Thread

and Nilsson also threaded the line between being emotionally affecting and confrontational or silly, loads of sarcasm and humor alternately undercutting or bolstering the more seriously emotional stuff

maybe FJM will do an album of standards next lol

that's all fine, it's the "political" angle that does him in, he's like a Bono level terribly political lyricist and the "performative" layer just makes it worse somehow

stuff like "Holy Shit" managed to just barely make that balance work but these new songs just tip right over into nightmare fodder

well like I said I'll reserve judgment til I hear the whole thing, I haven't listened to this new stuff

I thought "Holy Shit" was v good

if he has in fact turned to earnest Bono-ing yeah I might be getting off the boat

album is really dull, coming from someone who really likes honeybear and fear fun. so many plodding piano ballads, that literally all seem to be about an end-of-the-world reckoning and making pithy statements about how silly the whole world is. every track seems like it should be the final track on the album. i was listening to it without looking at the tracklisting and i couldn't believe another song kept coming on

i've steadfastly detested this artist since the beginning and in a way that was likely untenably, unreasonably prejudiced but i'm glad to learn that even his fans are beginning to turn on him

also would rather eat a nine day-old Whopper sat on by Baron Harkonnen than be forced to read Sir Elton interviewing Misty Joe Fuckface

― Wimmels, Tuesday, March 21, 2017 1:36 PM (two days ago)

I was put off listening to him for a long time by the unending stream of rubbish he said in interviews. I eventually forced myself to have a browse around in case I was missing out. Real Love Baby is a great song, even if (because?) it's a complete early solo Lennon ripoff. Everything else though was dull, plodding shite, with the odd clunky 'provocative' line. I can't be arsed to listen to any more, life is short and there's way too much good music out there to be wasting my time on him.

I don't have a problem with this man

not that I've heard his music or anything

piano ballads, that literally all seem to be about an end-of-the-world reckoning and making pithy statements about how silly the whole world is. every track seems like it should be the final track on the album

he's good at these but yeah idk if I can take a whole album of this. I like a little variety. and he's good at the sprightlier tunes ("Well You Can Do It Without Me", "I'm Writing a Novel", "Chateau Lobby #4")

yknow I could really go for a whole album of "Well You Can Do It Without Me" type jaunty country-pop but I guess he's too "smart" for that or whatever

"Real Love Baby" is great because he didn't write it for the insufferable Father John Misty character he's lost himself in. Truth be told, his earnest folk albums as J. Tillman are pretty unlistenable, but at least he was easy to ignore back then. It's frustrating now because every stunt he pulls gets hot take'd into death—the novelty songs, the interviews, the controversial lyrics, the stage rants—clogging up news feeds for days. Worse, it all happens with the knowledge that he's really talented and can make infectious pop songs (i.e. "Real Love Baby") but decides to spiral further down into his meta rabbit hole of masturbatory in-jokes and freshman philosophy level musings. He's funny, too, but that gets obscured by the fact he doesn't think a musician can court fame without compromising some antiquated notion of authenticity.

Oh no a musician w personal ethics how terrible rmde

The problem is that he tries to impose those personal ethics on other artists. He said to Rolling Stone, "Artists need to consider whether they can live with themselves if they’re just singing about breakups and whatever," like his dorm room critical theory is any more socially Important.

in the current rush to destroy straight white guys i fail to understand how this one isn't first on the list

"Artists" is obviously generalized/abstract there, I'm sure he's including himself in that statement.

Xp

doesn't make it much better

he doesn't think a musician can court fame without compromising some antiquated notion of authenticity.

― Handsome Bookor, Thursday, March 23, 2017 9:09 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

isn't Pitchfork proving him right, though? It's as if his publicist concocts a new 'hot take" every day and Pitchfork are just hanging on the line waiting to see if the latest scoop will be about Stranger Things or Kanye or Taylor or...

Again, his thing--such that it is--is working, despite the pushback. A lot of people I know know this guy's name, very very few have heard his music or even the name of his latest album ("It's 'Honeyboo-boo something-something' right?")

in the current rush to destroy straight white guys i fail to understand how this one isn't first on the list

― call all destroyer, Thursday, March 23, 2017 10:48 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

completely otm

not sure I can ever truly forgive Aziz Ansari for building an episode of Master of None around seeing this tool in concert.

Yeah, true. In his defense, though, is his dilettanteishness blandery. He isn't /quite/ dumb enough to write off entirely, /quite/ pretentious enough to eye-roll, /quite/ drab enough to become wallpaper, /quite/ honest enough to be admirable. I find his antic persona weirdly relatable- like, the kind of dumb inchoate shit I might say if given a pop platform.

It's as if his publicist concocts a new 'hot take" every day and Pitchfork are just hanging on the line waiting to see if the latest scoop will be about Stranger Things or Kanye or Taylor or...

The annoying thing, as far as I see it, is that he wants to have it both ways. Sing about VR sex with Taylor Swift, get a lot of press for his album, and then say it's social commentary. He'll make the songs, and then criticize people for liking them.

Total Entertainment Forever = totally Captain Fantastic era Elton.

he doesn't think a musician can court fame without compromising some antiquated notion of authenticity.

which is itself a fucking tired antiquated notion. at least Bowie invented a space alien.

Who he really reminds me of is Nilsson, sort of agent-provacateur pop

he really sounds like he wants to sound like Nilsson. but he doesn't have the pipes, he doesn't have the charm, he doesn't have the humor. Nilsson was effortless and sly and dgaf. he could get you thrown out of a club even if you were John Lennon.

this guy is a tryhard, safe as milk coffee shop rebel. the pomo "What is authenticity?" stuff is tired, old, leaden Trenchant Social Commentary.

lol @ "You guys don't know irony!" it's a lot like watching a bad comedian and people defending them by saying "You don't get it/It's going over your head".

like, ah yes, it is "performance art", that means i must shut my brain off and appreciate everything he is doing.

I'll grant that he doesn't have Nilsson's pipes, but that's a p high bar

no one can sing like that guy

this guy was being interviewed by Charlie Stayt and Steph McGovern on BBC Breakfast this morning! I didn't realise he had any profile beyond ilm/pitchfork etc

A "tryhard?" What a fantastically shitty thing to say.

yeah, don't try as hard!

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=try-hard

A person who puts a large amount of effort into achieving a certain image, or counter-image, to the point where it is obviously contrived. Rather than achieving an image through genuine personality, the try-hard consciously attempts to fit a certain style through deliberate imitation, forced style, or scripted behavior. That is to say, he/she is trying hard to create an image.

here you go wise guys

he seems pretty up-front about his image being totally contrived and putting a lot of effort into it idgi

Rather than achieving an image through genuine personality,

lol, who's priveleging tired notions of authenticity now?

i really liked his cover of "God"

he seems pretty up-front about his image being totally contrived and putting a lot of effort into it idgi

ah, the old "It's performance art!" get out of jail free card. i am well aware he has made this disclaimer. it's all he has. it's just not interesting. this is an uninteresting person musing about how interesting they are.

i actually like everything about FJM except his music. it's a drag

when someone like David Bowie or Madonna does the self aware performance art deconstruction thing, it was about that journey, not about how clever they were for doing so.

also, their music was awesome, which certainly helped the medicine go down

ah, the old "It's performance art!" get out of jail free card. i am well aware he has made this disclaimer. it's all he has. it's just not interesting. this is an uninteresting person musing about how interesting they are.

I'm not using it as a get out of jail free card, I'm pointing out that your critique of his persona makes no sense/is inconsistent.

Madonna's music is 99% garbage

Nilsson doesn't seem like the right point of comparison to me. If we're talking 70s pro-studio gloss + darkly cynical/sarcastic lyrics about sex and drugs and assholes then the obvious reference point is everyone's favorite Coachella 2015 performers

― Οὖτις, Thursday, January 15, 2015 9:22 AM (two years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

haha btw I obviously changed my mind about this, although I do still think the Dan are also a good pt of comparison (sans the smooth jazz chops obviously and maybe unfortunately)

OBVIOUSLY, I say

@Adam Still a horrible term, even though you didn't make it up.

I still like FJM, although so far the new tracks have all been a bit samey: ponderous ballads with shoehorned-in lyrics and meandering melodies.

ponderous ballads with shoehorned-in lyrics and meandering melodies.

this is literally the dictionary definition of indie music, what more could you want?

<i>Madonna's music is 99% garbage

― Οὖτις,</i>

dude no. it's much more like 45% garbage

70s pro-studio gloss + darkly cynical/sarcastic lyrics about sex and drugs and assholes

if you want to do this & don't have the stones to go full trainwreck like tim buckley c greetings from la, then you should be doing something else.

I dont know that one, will check it